


What Was Once His

by ShandyCandy278



Series: Satisfaction Brought Him Back [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Family, Hehehe, Hurt/Comfort, I'm trying to get rid of writer's block, Poor Blue, Sequel, Tags will be added, Unofficial Sequel, h/c, underswap - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:34:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24916216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShandyCandy278/pseuds/ShandyCandy278
Summary: Blue had a secret. It was one that his friends and some others knew- but one that he had worked hard to keep from his world.It makes one wonder... what would happen if they found out?
Relationships: Family - Relationship, Implied Errink, Implied Scifell, Implied Xunshine/Cream/Starcrossed/Whatever-you-want-to-call-it
Series: Satisfaction Brought Him Back [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1549132
Comments: 26
Kudos: 141





	1. The Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> THIS! IS AN UNOFFICIAL SEQUEL! TO CURIOSITY KILLED THE ERROR!
> 
> Meaning that there are CANON-ESQUE elements in this fic, but the fic itself is NOT CANON TO THE STORY!
> 
> Now that that's out of the way- I actually wrote this up a while ago. Months ago, actually- but writer's block hit me hard recently and I'm hoping that posting this will help me get out of this funk I got myself into.
> 
> This first chapter is just the prologue that I posted in the Bonus Scenes, so it might sound familiar (don't worry, I'm posting a second chapter right after this, so you'll actually get some new content).
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy! :D

He had never thought that life on the surface would be as good as it sounded.

And it wasn’t, not quite, but it lived up to a lot of people’s dreams and expectations.

Papyrus just wished that he could figure out what was wrong.

Yes, something was wrong, and he couldn’t figure out what it was or why whatever it was was wrong.

Sometimes, he’d be talking to Sans, and suddenly tears would start building up in his eye sockets. They weren’t sad tears, he didn’t feel sad- but they weren’t happy, either.

They just… were.

Sometimes he’d be hanging out with everyone- laughing, having fun, talking- and he’d get this overwhelming feeling that something wasn’t right. That something was wrong- that they were missing  _ something _ , even when everything was accounted for.

Sometimes, when he and his brother would go to hang out with the alternate versions of themselves, he’d look around- like he was waiting for someone to show up. Like he was waiting for something to happen, to appear out of nowhere and get everything to make sense.

And sometimes, when he’d go to sleep, he’d have nightmares. 

While that was normal, in a way- the dreams weren’t. They weren’t of the resets or flowers ruthlessly attacking him and his bro, they were of something else.

One of them was of a child. One like Chara, but different. 

Their hand would press a purple button, and suddenly he and Sans and Chara would be killing each other, dying, melting from excessive amounts of DT- every single horrifying scenario he could think of would happen. He’d normally wake up screaming to it- Sans would come in and ask him what was wrong, and he’d just say it was a silly nightmare so that his brother wouldn’t worry about him.

The other one wasn’t exactly a nightmare, but it haunted him just as much.

In it, he’d be walking and talking with Sans, just like they’d do on their morning walks. Sans would pun, Papyrus would humor him- just like normal.

But then Sans would glitch- flicker in and out of existence before vanishing. The world around him would shift until he was standing in front of someone else, their face hidden from his sight. They had their hand held out like they wanted to show him something, but the moment he tried to grab it, they would pull their hand away.

_ “No,” _ They’d say with tears falling down their cheeks.  _ “You should be happy. You don’t need me anymore. Don’t worry- I’ll be okay.” _

Now, he knew that that doesn’t actually sound like a nightmare, but whenever he would wake up from that dream he’d still cry. His soul would still beat wildly in his chest and he’d still have trouble going back to sleep.

The worst part?

The person in his dreams sounded just like Sans, but different. And he knew that other versions of his brother existed, but he was positive that the next closest one to his Sans was either a version of Swapfell, one where his brother was more happy go-lucky, or a weird one where Sans is so in love he starts killing people.

The Sans from his dreams were not any of those, and that…

_ That scared him. _

He had talked to Undyne and Asgore about the dreams, and they had all agreed. These dreams were just dreams- nothing more, nothing less. Simple figments of his imagination that wanted to run wild repeatedly and that he would probably have to learn to live with.

They were  _ both _ just dreams, so there was no reason to worry…

…

…

_ Right? _


	2. His World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue fights in a battle and loses, and then meets people he'd rather not see again.

Blue grunted as he pushed against his Gaster Blaster, his feet sliding a little on the asphalt as he used his magical construct to shield himself from a blast. 

After Error and Ink had decided that _only_ _they_ could fight over the destruction of AUs, and after Nightmare had lessened his attacks so that Dream and Cross could raise Palette, Blue became the most active public defender of the Multiverse. 

Which meant stopping outcodes like these from wreaking havoc while Ink and Cross worked to solve the problem.

Some code from Glitchtale had duplicated, accidentally creating a hate-filled Chara from the beginning of the story to start running all over the Multiverse in search of their Frisk copy. Ink was in Glitchtale trying to figure out what happened and how they could stop it with Dream trying to help the worlds that Glitchtale Chara already hit, so Blue was left with the job of preventing Chara from doing more damage.

Teleporting and summoning a pile of bones where he used to stand, Blue smiled as the Chara ran into them while trying to get him- summoning another blaster to fire. He dodged the purple replica of his attack and moved onto the defensive, summoning bones for the cyan to grab instead of his own feet.

He had made  _ so much _ progress in fighting ever since he had joined Dream and Ink- to think that, about four and a half years ago, he would have been dusted already. The thought made his chest swell with pride, but he didn’t let it distract him.

He dodged through the orange attack swiftly, and he would have summoned another bone for the cyan to take instead of his leg if he hadn’t heard it.

“... Sans?”

Blue’s eye lights shrunk to small pinpricks- he  _ knew _ that voice.

He could never forget it.

And the small realization that he was in not just  _ any _ Underswap, but  _ HIS _ Underswap was all that it took.

The cyan wrapped around his leg, and with a simple twist, he was sent flying into the building across the street. Blue only  _ just _ avoided being hit with knife attacks by teleporting the moment Cyan vanished, summoning multiple complicated bone constructs and Gaster blasters to (hopefully) keep Chara busy while he looked.

When he found them, he teleported over to them with a harsh glare.

“You need to get out of here.” He growled, looking between Papyrus and Sans. “Now.”

They were too shocked to listen, so with an impatient huff Blue wrapped his arms around the two of them and teleported away. He didn’t look at them in fear of breaking down, only teleporting back into the fight the moment he got them to safety.

This time when he rushed in, he wasn’t protecting just  _ anyone _ . 

He was protecting the world he lost.

And he would rather die than let this version of Chara ruin  _ everything _ that was once his.

* * *

Blue spit the blood out of his mouth and wiped it off of his face from where he lay in the rubble. He and Chara had been fighting in  _ his  _ Underswap for  _ hours _ now, and it didn’t help that two certain skeletons kept on trying to interfere.

“Ah-ah-ah~!” Chara sang when Blue started to get up, using cyan and blue magic to lift some of the rubble from a building and drop it on him. Blue screamed in pain as he felt something break (his leg) and desperately tried to get the chunk of building off of him.

His magic reserves were too low to use Sci’s machines safely, so he couldn’t teleport- only throw some bone attacks that Chara dodged with ease.

“Don’t worry- I can tell that this world isn’t mine.” The Chara admitted. “I only want  _ my _ Frisk to pay for their actions. I’m done playing now.”

“No!” Blue growled, grunting as he barely got the rock to move an inch. “We’re- We’re not done yet!”

The sound of Chara leaving said otherwise.

“Dang-it!” Blue cursed, continuing to struggle to push the rubble off of him. His vision was fading in and out with his exhaustion- he hadn’t had to fight that hard in a while. He didn’t have any ink on him at the moment, so he couldn’t summon Ink until he could get some, and he couldn’t get some until he got this stupid thing off of him!

He gasped when magic enveloped the building and slowly began to lift it up. Blue was quick to crawl away, grimacing at the sight of his left leg ( _ definitely _ broken) and hissing in pain until he got far enough away that he wouldn’t be in danger of being crushed anymore. The rubble fell, but he didn’t care for it as he situated himself against some rubble and lifted his hands up. 

If he was going to go after Chara, then he needed to heal.

And even then, he didn’t want to stay long enough for the brothers to find him again (although, they probably already had).

“Come on!” He urged, his hands flickering weakly with green magic. He was never all that good at it,  _ but maybe just this once! _ “Come on, Come on!”

It sputtered out.

He didn’t have enough.

“No!”

“Hey, are you okay there, bud?”

No, no,  _ no, no, NO! _

“I’m fine!” Blue bit out, trying to summon up his magic again. His head was spinning- he probably put too much into that battle. He should have held himself back, but it was hard to do that when, well… 

“I just… need to… heal!” He gasped, praying for  _ anything. _

And what he got was a fat dose of  _ nothing. _ Not even a simple spark of normal magic.

He wanted to cry.

_ ‘Not now!’ _ He thought desperately, trying harder even though he knew his reserves were empty.  _ ‘Not here! They’re not supposed to know!’ _

“Hey, don’t hurt yourself.” Hands. Hands that were far too familiar for him to handle were gently grabbing his own and putting them down. “If you’re out, you’re out.”

Blue was too tired and too busy fighting the tears in his eyes to respond.

“Here-“ Arms carefully wrapped themselves around his body, picking him up from the ground. “Let’s get you someplace safe.”

“No.” He grunted, fighting against the hold even as pain spiked up his leg. “I need to find them- I need to stop them! Let me go!”

“You’re in no position to fight!” A voice far too similar to his own exclaimed. “You should rest up and let us help you, other me!”

Blue was torn between fighting off his tears and laughing. When was the last time he had called a Sans an ‘other me’? He shook his head, even as it lolled to the side to rest against Papyrus’ shoulder. The sudden wave of exhaustion that flowed over him slowly made his movements still, even as he kept on trying to leave the hold.

“Got to… stop… them.” He said, his eye sockets closing against his will. 

He had forgotten about this- falling asleep moments after Papyrus picked him up. Back before the XEvent it was the only thing that could have gotten him to sleep- the feeling of his brother nearby, close so that Blue could protect him if need be and vise-versa. Since then, Edge had helped him find multiple ways to help him fall asleep, but they were more like ‘naps’ than sleeping.

If he was more awake he’d be scandalized that it still worked, even though this wasn’t his world anymore. 

“Not… safe…” He continued, his voice a low and raspy murmur.

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of it!” Were the last words that he heard as he lost consciousness.


	3. A Temporary Arrangement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue wakes up and talks to people. Papyrus overhears something he probably shouldn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy it's my existential crisis day! Woo!
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

When Blue woke up, it was to a sight he didn’t think he’d ever see.

“Good morning, other me!”

“gAH!” Blue sat up and jumped back, accidentally falling off the couch. His leg thudded against the floor painfully (it felt heavier than it should) and he cried out with the resounding agony that followed.

“Oh, dear me!” Sans gasped, kneeling next to Blue and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright, other me? I apologize- I didn’t mean to scare you!”

“I’m fine.” Blue gasped out, looking down at his broken leg. “A… cast?”

“Of course!” Sans beamed, placing a hand over his chest. “I, the magnificent Sans, and my brother Papyrus know that casts are the best way to heal broken bones! Mweh-heh-heh!”

“Yeah… they are.” Blue knew  _ exactly _ what Sans was thinking of when he said that, and a bittersweet smile came onto his face. He looked around, curiously. “Where are we?”

“Why, we are in my home, other me!” Sans grinned, giving a hand to help Blue up. Blue accepted it and let Sans help him onto the couch again, wincing when pain danced up his leg. “Here, let me get you some pain killers!”

“Thank you.” Blue nodded when Sans left, taking the time to look around the house. It looked just like the one underground, but Sans knew that if he looked out the window, he would see the thrilling city skyline.

_ ‘Dang it.’ _ He thought, rubbing his hands against his eye sockets as magic swelled up in them.  _ ‘No. No crying. You can do this.’ _

“Here we go!” Sans walked back in with a couple of pills and a cup of water. He paused when he saw Blue. “Are you okay, other me?”

“I’m fine.” Blue deflected, doing his best to pull his biggest smile. “It… just hurts a bit.”

...

Well, that was an understatement.

“Well, soon the pain will be gone!” Gently, Sans placed the pills and cup into Blue’s hands. Blue nodded and took the pills, taking it with some water. He sighed and handed the glass back to Sans when he was done.

“Thank you.” Blue said, pushing against the couch to help himself stand up and putting all of his weight on his right leg. “But I really should be going.”

“What?” Sans gasped. “But you’re injured, other me! You shouldn’t leave!”

“Maybe.” He shook his head. “But I need to track them down. They-“

“Oh, no need to worry!” Sans smiled. “I summoned Ink and told him! He’s working on it!”

Blue’s eye socket twitched.

It was okay, it probably wasn’t-

“And he said that you should stay here to recover!”

_ He was going to kill Ink if this was actually intentional. _

“But I understand if you have a brother you need to get back to.” Sans smiled, sitting down next to Blue while grabbing his arm and encouraging Blue to sit back down with him. “What’s your brother like?”

Blue hated to admit it, but he was tempted to just leave Sans in the dark. To lie. To pretend that Sans didn’t know more than he did know, just like everyone else did. But he knew how frustrating that was. Lying wouldn’t do any good either, so he told the truth.

“I don’t have a brother anymore.” Blue shook his head as he sat down. “Or an AU. I haven’t had them for a while now.”

“Mweh?!” Sans gasped. “Oh no! What happened?!”

“Nothing too important to talk about.” Blue smiled. “But- I wanna know about your world!”

“Of course you would!” Sans laughed cheerfully, and Blue could feel his soul grow a little lighter with seeing for himself that this copy of him was, indeed, happy-happy. “I, the Magnificent Sans, will tell you!”

And that, much to Blue’s relief, was pretty much how they spent the rest of the day. Nice, easy, not too many questions. Sans obviously wanted to ask a lot, but he knew that Sans wouldn’t pry unless it was needed.

When he closed his eyes and all he could see was the Overwrite button being used to kill Papyrus and Chara though, he knew that sleep would be lost again tonight.

He had always had trouble sleeping, though- even before the XEvent. It had been getting better recently thanks to Edge. Actually, he owed Edge and Sci a lot of things- along with Dream. They had all done so much for him. They were life savers.

That was how Papyrus found him when he came down the stairs around 4:30 that morning- awake and alert.

“Huh. I guess some things don’t change in other worlds.” Papyrus shrugged. “Did you try?”

“Yeah, didn’t quite work.” Blue shrugged back. “It’s normal.”

“I know that technically it’s Sans, but what’s-“

“Blue.” Blue smiled a little, sadly. “I go by Blue. It hasn’t been Sans for a while.”

“So Sans was right.” Papyrus frowned, and Blue had to shift his eyes to look away. “When he said that you don’t have a world or brother anymore. Did Error destroy it?”

“Error?” Blue laughed a little, but it wasn’t a real one. “No, he hasn’t gone after an Underswap Universe in ages. I’d… rather not talk about it.”

“If you’re sure.” Papyrus shrugged, pulling out a bottle of honey from the fridge. “I need to go off to work in a bit- is there anything that you need me to do? Anything that I should get?”

“I’m fine.” Blue brushed off. Then he paused. “Actually… can I have a soda, please?”

* * *

Blue, later that day after Papyrus got home from work and fell asleep while Sans was off at his own place of work, poured the soda into a bowl. It should have enough pigment for it to work, right?

“Ink.” He called, and out the Guardian came.

“Hello, Blue!” He cheered, lowering the volume of his voice when Blue shushed him. “Is something wrong?”

“Why am I here?”

“To get better.” Blue took in a deep breath, his hands in the universal prayer position as he begged for any kind of higher being to help him with dealing with his memory-struggling friend.

“Ink.” He said slowly, lowering his hands as he looked up at his friend. “I know I need to get better, but why  _ here _ ? This is  _ THE _ Underswap, I don’t-“

“I know.” Ink smiled when Blue blinked, surprised.

“You… you  _ knew?! _ ” He hissed, eyes wide.

“Yup!” Ink smiled, and for once Blue wanted to slap some sense into him. “I’m still chasing down Glitchtale Chara with Dream, Sci and Edge are still working on a way to trap them, Reaper and Geno went on a honeymoon leaving Cross’ arms full with Goth and Palette, Nightmare doesn’t care because it’s causing negativity so Horror, Kilker, and Dust won’t help, and Error’s… busy.”

“Busy.” Blue deadpanned, and Ink nodded happily.

“Yup!” He shrugged. “You were already being taken care of here, so I figured you should stay!”

“Why not just heal my broken leg with your paints?” 

“Well, Papyrus wouldn’t let me when I asked. Something about ‘I’m positive his brother would do the same if he knew what was going on’ and ‘Get out of here you idiotic squidball’.” Ink shrugged again. “Besides! When I told Edge about it, he said that it would be good for you!”

“That’s for  _ when I’m ready!” _ Blue stressed, his hands tightening into fists. “I’m not even close! I’m surprised I haven’t broken down yet! Just-“ He grabbed Ink’s hand, looking up at him with pleading eyes. “ _ I’m not ready, _ Ink! I’m not ready to face this! I’m-“ His breath hitched, and he held on tighter. “I can’t be here, Ink- I shouldn’t! This is the last place where I should be! I don’t- I can’t-“ A quiet sob tore itself from his throat, and suddenly, he couldn’t speak anymore. His voice gave up on him, and the only thing he dared to do was close his eyes and look down while he tried, and failed, to get it together.

He didn’t know where this was coming from, but in all honesty he felt so very, very tired.

For once in a long, long time, Blue couldn’t find it in himself to pretend that it was okay. To pretend that  _ he _ was okay- to pretend that he was happy for the sake of others. 

Ink stood there for a moment to just stare at him before he slowly sat down next to him and pulled Blue into a hug- careful of the broken leg. 

It was like that for a few minutes, Blue doing his best not to cry even as he sobbed while Ink held onto him, fingering his paints. Finally, Ink drank a little from both shades of blue and a little bit from yellow. His hold tightened on Blue, and after a moment, he spoke.

“If you’re not ready now, when will you be?” Ink asked, his voice softer than Blue ever remembered it could be. It made him cry a little harder, and Ink held him closer. 

“As a Guardian, you can’t just run from this. You’ll have to confront it eventually. I know that the XEvent-“ Ink tightened his hold. “-did a lot to you, and I regret it. I know that, sometimes, it takes many years to heal- but how can you recover from a fear of failing if you don’t get up and try again?” Ink looked down at him with a sad smile, wiping some of the tears off of his cheeks. 

“We all believe that you are ready- you’re the only one who doesn’t think that. At the very least, give it a try, okay? If this doesn’t actually work I won’t ever do something like this again on purpose. I promise. I’ll even put it in my ‘very important and must always remember no matter what’ list, okay?”

“Okay.” Blue sniffed, leaning against him. “Okay, I’ll… I’ll try.” After a few moments of silence, he looked up at Ink again. “Can… can you stay here? Please? Just for a little bit…”

Ink smiled down at him, gently rubbing Blue’s back soothingly. “Of course.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

_ He was back again. _

_ There they were- arm outstretched, waiting for him to reach out. _

_ He did, but this time, he grabbed them before they could move away. _

_ “Let me help you.” He said, pulling them closer. “I don’t care if I’m happy- just help me understand.” _

_ “I can’t.” They said, pulling away. “I won’t. I refuse to do that to you.” _

_ “But-!” _

“I’m  _ not ready _ , Ink!”

Papyrus gasped as he sat up in his bed, hand over his soul and ignoring the tears already falling down his cheeks.

_ ‘Not that dream again…’ _ He thought, taking a few deep and steady breaths to help him calm down.

“I’m not ready to face this!”

A… voice?

Papyrus blinked, looking down at his right side, where a vent was. That was where the voice was coming from, and it took Papyrus another moment to remember that there was another version of his brother downstairs, which was where this particular vent led to. With a quick glance at the time, he realized that it was 5:47 PM- about an hour after he had gotten home.

“I’m-“ Why did it sound like Blue was crying? “I can’t be here, Ink- I shouldn’t! This is the last place where I should be! I don’t- I can’t-“

Slowly, and as quietly as he could, Papyrus got out of bed. He unwrapped a sucker on his nightstand and placed it in his mouth as he walked stealthily out of his room, closing the door behind him and careful not to be seen. His eyes narrowed into a glare when he saw Ink and Blue sitting next to each other on the couch- Blue crying quietly as Ink comforted him.

Which, technically, Ink couldn’t actually do. Not without his paints, and it was proven a few minutes later when he reached for some of his vials to drink from.

“If you’re not ready now, when will you be?” Ink asked, and Papyrus had to lean in closer in order to make out the words. “As a Guardian, you can’t just run from this. You’ll have to confront it eventually. I know that the XEvent did a lot to you, and I regret it. I know that, sometimes, it takes many years to heal- but how can you recover from a fear of failing if you don’t get up and try again?” 

Papyrus watched as Ink looked down at Blue with a sad smile, wiping some of the tears off of his cheeks. “I believe that you are ready- you’re the only one who doesn’t think that. At the very least, give it a try, okay? If this doesn’t actually work I won’t ever do something like this again on purpose. I promise. I’ll even put it in my ‘very important and must always remember no matter what’ list, okay?”

“Okay.” Blue sniffed with a small smile. “Okay, I’ll… I’ll try.” After a few moments of silence, he looked up at Ink again. “Can… can you stay here? Please? Just for a little bit…”

“Of course.” Ink smiled, and Papyrus could see his arm moving as it rubbed Blue’s arm.

“Thank you.”

_ ‘XEvent?’ _ Papyrus thought, confusion blossoming in his mind as he watched Blue slowly cry himself to sleep. 

He had never heard of the term before, but it still sent shivers down his spine and reminded him of his Nightmares- the ones where he and Sans would be played with over and over and over again. 

What did it mean?

He didn’t know.

And as Ink slowly situated a sleeping Blue on the couch, Papyrus knew that it was about time that he did know.

“What’s the XEvent?” He asked, teleporting so that he was standing right behind Ink.

“Holy-“ Ink spun around and placed a hand over where his soul would have been, tensing when he saw him. “Papyrus! I was, uh, just leaving. So, no reason to be mad or anything.”

“What is the XEvent?” He asked again, stepping closer and his eye sockets narrowing further. “If it hurt him, then I should know what it is. Is it why he doesn’t have his world anymore? What did you do?”

“I…” Ink glanced behind him and at Blue before shaking his head. “It’s not in my place to say.”

“Ink-“

“It really isn’t!” Ink insisted, glancing at Blue again as though he was afraid to wake him up. He clearly didn’t want to be cought talking about this- like it was a forbidden subject to be brought up outside of Blue’s will. His next words were spoken in an even softer tone, proving his observations true. 

“If Blue doesn’t want to tell you about it, then I won’t tell you about it. It affected him the most outside of Cross, but Cross doesn’t really care- well, that’s not true, Cross  _ does _ care but this is about Blue, so  _ he’s _ the one who decides if he’s going to tell you or not.” A pause. “And he swore that he wouldn’t ever do that.”

Papyrus ground his teeth- Ink wasn’t making any sense! “You stupid little-“

“Hey, it’s okay- I know that I’ve overstayed my welcome.” He grabbed Broomy, and with a quick wave and hasty goodbye, he vanished. Papyrus growled in frustration, looking away from where Ink once stood and over at Blue. He thought over what he overheard and what little he knew, and after a few minutes, a small spark of realization hit him.

Maybe… 

Maybe it wasn’t just a dream. The one with the purple button was real- like how the resets weren’t actual dreams too, just glimpses of the last timeline.

And if one of the nightmares were actually memories…

Who’s to say that the other one wasn’t a memory either?


	4. Getting Out and About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue goes out and about with Sans and Papyrus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, it's been a while, hasn't it?
> 
> I don't really feel like writing a whole author's note about it, so I'll just say this- I hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

The next morning, Blue was still fast asleep (it reminded Papyrus of the few times his own brother slept like that, and it made him wonder if Sans had had emotional episodes that he hadn’t known about back then if that was the case), and after Papyrus told Sans what had happened last night Sans was determined to give Blue the best time he could.

Which meant calling everyone, coming up with a believable story, asking around for some crutches (thank the kind lady next door, but why she had them Papyrus will never know), and planning  _ ‘The Best and Most Epic Outing Ever!’ _ for Blue. From what Papyrus overheard, it started with hanging out with their friends and ended with Classic, Paps, Red, and Fell coming over for game night.

More like Red and Classic talking quietly amongst themselves together while the others played. Sometimes Papyrus would try to listen in or become a part of the conversation, but they were extra careful about what they talked about. Sometimes they’d look happy, other times they’d look like they were reliving a genocide run, but worse.

Maybe they had something to do with this ‘XEvent’ too?

Regardless, things were set up, and he was left with the task of waking Blue up.

“Hey.” He whispered, lightly gripping Blue’s shoulder and shaking him lightly. He didn't wake up. “Hey, Blue.” Still nothing. He shook a little harder. “It’s time to wake up.”

“Mmm…” Blue groaned, huffing as he turned away and sighing once he settled down again. Papyrus took a moment to shrug off the familiarity of those movements (Sans did the  _ exact same thing _ ) before reaching over and trying again. 

“Blue, come on, it’s time for breakfast.”

“Just ten more minutes~” Blue grumbled, pulling up the blanket that Papyrus had gotten for him last night tighter around himself. Papyrus was about to try again when he heard Blue whisper something under his breath. “Sans had… a long day, Papy. Just… ten more minutes…” A light snore followed, but Papyrus didn't do anything.

“... Okay.” He whispered, backing away. “Ten more minutes.”

“Is Blue up?” Sans asked when Papyrus walked numbly into the kitchen. The taller skeleton shook his head.

“He asked for ten more minutes.”

"If he insists!" Sans smiled, waving his phone a bit. “Alphys and Undyne are coming to pick us up and take us to meet the others in an hour, so we still have some time.” Papyrus nodded in understanding, turning around to leave the kitchen and sitting down at the table, thinking about the events that were going to happen today. He approached Blue carefully when the time was up.

“Hey, Blue.” He greeted, shaking Blue’s shoulders a little. “C’mon, it’s been ten minutes. Time to wake up.”

“Hmn?” One of Blue’s eye sockets fluttered open, and he turned to look up at Papyrus sleepily. “Papy…?” He blinked a few more times before slowly sitting up- Papyrus moving so that he would have space to. Blue yawned, stretching a little as he looked around in mild confusion. Realization sparked in Blue’s eyes when they landed on his cast, and Papyrus could have  _ sworn _ that he had deflated sadly for a moment before sitting up straight and greeting Papyrus with a smile. “Good morning!”

“... Good morning,” Papyrus replied with a smile of his own. “Did you have a good night’s sleep?”

“Yeah.” He nodded. “What time is it?”

“About 9:20-something in the morning.” Papyrus chuckled at Blue’s shocked face, reaching out for where the crutches were propped up against the arm of the couch by where Blue’s head had been. He gave them to Blue with a knowing smile. “You’re going to want these today.”

“Crutches?” He asked, his smile growing a little wider as he grabbed them. His smile was almost fond as he looked down at them. Papyrus couldn’t blame him. Such things were rare back when they were Underground. 

In fact, he remembered the one time Sans had searched fervently for things that could make one when Papyrus had accidentally broken his own leg, not liking the fact that his younger brother couldn’t continue going to school- which was one of the only things that he had enjoyed doing, back then. Sans had actually come across one that was intact while sorting through the garbage, and he had carried it home like it was the biggest treasure in the world.

He snapped out of the memory when Blue looked back up at him, confused. “Why would I need these? Not that I’m ungrateful, but…”

“Well,” Papyrus stood up and watched as Blue fiddled with the crutches until they were at the right height, using his hands to make sure Blue wouldn’t fall when he stood up on one foot. “Sans was thinking all night long, and he has quite the day planned.”

“Oh?”

“Yes!” Both of them looked over at the kitchen where Blue stuck his head out. “Do not worry, other me! I, the magnificent Sans, have expertly concocted the Best! Day! Ever!”

Blue’s blue eyelights became stars for the briefest of moments, and Papyrus had to take a moment to realize that, not once during Blue’s stay, had his eyelights resembled stars. Not even while he had been fighting- and Sans had been especially awed that another version of himself could fight so well.

“Wow!” Blue shifted, testing the crutches out as he walked over towards the dinner table and his tongue sticking out a little as he did so- smiling extra-triumphantly when he made it to his destination and sat down in the chair at the table. “What are we doing?”

“Undyne and Alphys are going to be picking us up!” Sans cheered, striking a pose. “We’re going to be meeting up with Queen Toriel and Mr. Asgore with Chara and Asriel to go watch a movie! Happstablook and Napstaton would have joined us, but they’re busy today.” He pouted. “I also wanted to go to the amusement park that opened up, but Queen Toriel mentioned that you might not be able to go on a lot of the rides. Don’t worry- I have a solution!” 

He struck another pose. “After the theater, we’ll go to Muffet’s for lunch, and after that, we’ll go to the park! It’s supposed to be especially lovely this time of year!” Sans paused, as though realizing something as he looked over Blue’s clothes. “Oh no! You can’t go out in that!”

“Huh?” Blue blinked, looking down. Papyrus looked at Blue as well, a bit confused.

Sure, he didn't exactly wear a ‘battle body’- but his clothes were nothing to sneeze at. Instead, he wore a light grey long-sleeved shirt tucked into his dark grey pants that had a protective sheen to them. He still had blue gloves and boots, but they were faded with use. The same could be said for his blue bandana, which was also torn slightly in various spots. It was a stark contrast to Sans, who had a white short-sleeved t-shirt and blue jeans along with the rest of his normal attire- including the ‘battle body’.

“It’s fall, other me!” Sans explained, already rushing upstairs. “You mustn’t get a cold! Don’t worry- I’ll be back!”

“Fall?” Blue questioned idly, looking up at Papyrus. “But it’s not all that cold yet, is it?”

“Not really, but Sans likes to worry.” He shrugged, glancing at the kitchen before looking back at Blue. “Would you like some breakfast? They’re supposed to be arriving soon.”

“Yes, please.” Blue smiled. “I would really like that.”

* * *

Blue wasn’t entirely sure what he thought of this.

He had struggled to look anyone in the eye throughout the whole day, mostly staying quiet and to himself. It wasn’t until Queen Toriel had spoken, placing her hand on his shoulder and smiling down at him that he noticed that he wasn’t exactly being social.

_ “Do not be afraid, little one.” _ She had said.  _ “Whatever it is you fear, we will not shun you for it.” _

_ “Okay.” _ He had replied, fighting back the tears that were threatening to come ever since Alphys and Undyne had picked them up that morning.  _ “Thank you.” _

He had tried (and failed) to become more social after that, his soul struggling to come to terms with what was happening. It was burning happily, yes- but there was always this undertone of sadness that followed the giddy feeling. And it grew heavier and heavier as the day went on, reminding him of one very important thing.

This…

This wasn’t his world anymore.

Toriel was no longer his Queen.

Asgore was no longer his King (or, well, former King).

Chara, Asriel, Undyne, and Alphys were no longer his friends.

Sans was no longer his name.

But the hardest thing to swallow was that Papyrus was no longer his brother.

He wanted to yell- to scream. He had already come to terms with this!  _ None _ of this was his anymore! He had mourned his loss and moved on- finding ways to push back the darkness and to keep on striving for others just like he had all those years ago.

But every time he heard their laughter, their voices and hopes and dreams, he could feel those old wounds opening all over again.

They weren’t  _ his. _

Not anymore.

Every single time, he had to remind himself of this. Every single time they smiled or frowned, rolled their eyes or waved their hands, he had to remind himself that he wasn’t theirs anymore, either.

He could tell that he wasn’t doing as good of a job as he believed at hiding his pain. Everyone kept on throwing him more and more worried looks as the day went on, and that made him want to laugh at the absurdity of it all. He wanted to laugh until he broke and cry until he was nothing but a numb and empty husk, curled up on the floor and tears endlessly falling down his cheeks as the numb feeling of emotionlessness swallowed his soul.

This wasn’t  _ helping _ . This wasn’t  _ okay. _

_ This was emotional  _ **_torture!_ **

But that was what healing was supposed to be, wasn’t it? Growing stronger was supposed to be about breaking the norms and surpassing them, and healing was supposed to be about tearing open old wounds and making out of it alive, right?

This… this ache that he felt deep inside his soul, that begged for him to stay and lied to him that this was, actually, all  _ his _ , was part of the process. The trembling of his hands and the tears threatening to escape, the need to hold back his wails and screams of agony, the feeling of his soul tearing itself up inside of his rib cage- it was all part of the healing process. 

And- and it would be over before he knew it. Because this was supposed to happen. This was good. It was  _ good. _

…

…

…

…  _ Right? _

Blue didn't say much on the way home either, slowly limping with his crutches back into the house and muttering a soft ‘thank-you’ to Papyrus for opening the door for him. He walked almost emotionlessly towards the couch and flopped down onto it with a large, heavy sigh.

“That was so fun!” Sans cheered, and Blue missed the worried glance that Sans sent him and the meaningful glances the two brothers sent each other before he opened his eyes, sitting up a little straighter. “We should do it again sometime!” Sans approached Blue, eyelights hopeful. “Did you have fun, other me?”

Outside of the horrible feeling of  _ wrongness _ that echoed in his soul? “Yeah.” He gave Sans a smile. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Splendid!” Sans clapped his hands together.

“Hold on a sec, bro.” Papyrus called out, walking out of the kitchen with a bottle of honey in his hands. “Shouldn’t we tell him about what’s gonna happen next?”

“What’s happening next?” Blue asked, curious. He could keep this up for a little longer, but it would be helpful to know what else was going on.

“Well!” Sans smiled. “Once every month, other us’ es and other Papyruses come to hang out together and have fun!” He sat down next to Blue happily, his smile turning understanding. “However, I understand if you have had a long day and do not wish to be apart of our shenanigans.”

Blue blinked a few times.

This… hadn’t been a thing before. It must’ve happened after the XEvent.

Interesting.

“I’d love to hang out with you guys.” He said sincerely.

“Awesome!” Sans cheered, fist-pumping. “In that case, I shall go prepare dinner!”

“Is there anything that I can do?” Blue asked, watching as the other rushed off and towards the kitchen. Papyrus walked over to him and sat down in Sans’ place, sipping some of the Honey.

“Not really.” He shrugged. “Unless you know how to make tacos that everyone will like. The others don’t really appreciate my Bro’s cooking.”

“Oh!” Blue sat up happily. “I’ve been working really hard on that! Dream taught me a few things and I’d love to help!”

“yOU MAKE TACOS TOO?!” Sans sped out of the kitchen like a lightning bolt, jumping up and down excitedly when he stopped in front of Blue. When Blue nodded, Sans squealed. “I wanna know how you do it, other me! The other us’ es don’t make them and the other Papyruses don’t make them either!”

“I’ll teach you.” Blue laughed, grabbing the crutches again and following Sans into the kitchen. He almost winced at the sight of ingredients he no longer used, giving his copy a smile.

It was time to get to work.

* * *

“Aaand that should be everything!” Sans wiped the sweat off of his brow, looking over at Papyrus. “When do you think they’ll be coming over?”

“Well,” Papyrus stretched with a sigh. “Knowing Paps and Edge, they’ll be here any second now-”

“We’re already here you insufferable ingrates!”

“Edge!” Sans cheered, rushing out. Blue followed him slowly, readjusting his hold on his crutches as he did so. He smiled as he looked towards the front door to greet them, only to freeze when he realized just which alternates had been invited to the party.

Of course, they could have been from  _ any _ of the Undertale or Underfell timelines- but once you’ve fought with someone to  _ that _ degree you recognize them anywhere.

Classic and Red were staring back at him, too- clearly shocked.

“I’m so glad that you’re here!” Sans cheered, giving Underfell’s Papyrus a tight hug.

“Swap.” Edge greeted with a huff, his eyes also on Blue but in a very harsh glare. “Who is this alternate alternate of yours?”

“Oh!” Sans gasped, looking behind him. He waved for Blue to come forward, so he did. “Guys, this is Blue! He’s another version of  _ me _ me! He got hurt while he was fighting against an alternate human to protect our world, so he’s staying with us until he gets better!”

“It’s…” Blue tore his eyes off of Classic and Red, smiling at Edge (that was going to be confusing) as he walked forward. He situated himself and his crutches before offering his hand. “Nice to meet you!”

“Hmm.” Edge leaned down, eyeing him with mild distaste and  _ clearly _ sizing him up. Blue shifted awkwardly. Then Edge straightened his back, accepting Blue’s hand for a very brief (and  _ tight _ ) handshake. “I  _ suppose _ the same could be said to you.”

“Fell!” Undertale’s Papyrus scolded, placing his hands on his hips. “That wasn’t very nice of you!”

“What?” Edge asked, looking over his shoulder. “Should I have asked him to spar instead? I thought you said asking injured people to get into a fight with you wasn’t polite either? I can still do that- I can tell he’s strong. I’d like to see how strong he is.”

“I…” Undertale’s Papyrus took a deep breath, hanging his head a little. “That is impolite as well.”

“You pacifist worlds have weird customs.” Edge finally huffed, walking around Blue and Sans to go further into the house.

“I apologize about Edge.” Undertale’s Papyrus ‘whispered’, leaning down while shaking Blue’s still outstretched hand gently. “It is very nice to meet you, Blue. You can call me Paps.”

“It’s nice to meet you too, Paps.” Paps practically  _ beamed _ before pointing over at Red and Classic.

“And these are our brothers, Red and Classic.” Papyrus introduced proudly.

“It’s nice to meet you.”  _ ‘Again.’ _ Blue added on internally, offering his hand to them. Classic smirked and offered him his own hand, the two meeting together and-

_ PFFFFFFFFFFFVVVVVFFFfffffffffvvvvvvvfffffvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvtttttttttttppptpttptttttt _

“SANS!” Paps exclaimed while Classic snickered at the mortified look on Blue’s face.

“You  _ didn't. _ ” Blue finally managed to get out, his face slowly morphing into an annoyed pout that, in his opinion, was more of a glare than anything.

“Didn't what?” Classic asked, shrugging and hand-sized whoopie cushion available for everyone to see.

“I-” Blue sighed and shook his head. “Never mind.” He shot his narrowed eye sockets at Red, who  _ suspiciously _ had a similar grin to Classic’s on his face. “You better not be thinking about joy-buzzing me.”

“Who? Me?” Red laughed. “Psshhhh, naw- I’d  _ never _ do that.”

“Don’t trust him.” Edge called out from further in the house. “He would, and he has.”

“Wha- But boss!” Red exclaimed, sweating a little. “Ya confiscated it, ‘member?”

“Hmm, yes-” Edge moved so that he could see Red, his own eye sockets narrowed. “But it has  _ mysteriously _ vanished from the battle box and I have yet to find it in any of the other places I hide your little pranks in.”

“I- Uh-”

“Let’s not fight!” Sans called out, poking his head out below Fell. “Come! We have dinner ready and everything!”

“Ooo! I’d like to help!” Paps walked further into the house, leaving Blue, Red, and Classic alone. With those unaware gone, Classic’s smile turned a little more sincere, and he leaned in.

“It’s nice to see you again.” He admitted, placing a hand on Blue’s shoulder. Blue withheld a wince from the touch, giving a little smile in turn.

“This is more of a mistake than anything.” He replied in a hushed tone, chancing a glance behind him and freezing when he realized that Papyrus was watching them. “I’m… not supposed to be here.”

“Well, this monthly meeting was kind of a mistake too.” Classic chuckled. “We were trying to search for you after it all calmed down, and the next thing we know… well, we found out about what happened.” His smile grew a little tight. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Blue brushed off. “I’m doing better now.”

“Don’ worry ‘bout Stretch.” Red laughed a little, giving Blue a small nudge. “He’s tried ev’ry single time we get t’gether ta figure out what da heck we’re talkin’ ‘bout, and he hasn’ found nothin’.”

“Yeah.” Classic nodded. “Dream told us that you wanted to keep it a secret and we’ve been doing that.” The hand that was on Blue’s shoulder gently patted him before removing itself. “Now, I understand if you don’t want to, but you’re more than welcome to join us.”

“I…” Blue glanced back at the living room, where he could hear Sans and Edge arguing about which game they should play. He looked back almost anxiously, shifting on his feet.

He didn't think he could handle any more familiarity today.

“Yeah.” He said with a nod, taking a deep breath. “I think that I’ll join you.”

“That’s great to hear, kid.” Classic laughed, and Blue huffed- a part of him relaxing at the light jab.

“I’m just as old as you, Classic.”

“I’m still gonna call you a kid, kid.”

“ _ That’s _ gonna take some gettin’ used to.” Red admitted with his own laugh. “When did ya stop callin’ us ‘other me’s?”

It was a joke, he reminded himself, so he treated it like one. “I don’t know- when did you stop swearing every five seconds?”

“Dream mentioned something about a ‘Fresh’ character.” Sans admitted with a shrug as Red’s face flushed with his anger. “He has the ability to sensor those kinds of things, and Red hates it more than you’d think. This Fresh has taken a liking to randomly popping in on Red to get a rise out of him or something, so he’s cut back on it.”

“It ain’t fair.” Red huffed, folding his arms. “I’m allowed ta swear if I wanna. Ain’t no one allowed ta say otherwise, and I ain’t gonna give ‘em the satisfaction o’ censorin’ my curses.”

“So…” Blue shifted again, tilting his head. “How do we do this? Is it like Edge- or, you know, the  _ Sans _ Edge- or…?”

“‘Like Edge’ he says.” Red scoffed. 

“Well…” Sans raised a hand to do an ‘ify’ gesture. “Kind of. Neither of us liked the idea of a support group, so we did our own thing. No one really cares as long as we talk about  _ something _ . Doesn’t have to be related to it- usually we just tell jokes and rant about stuff.”

“In other words-” Red smirked. “Let us take care o’ the bros. We’ll let ya know when the time’s right for it, ‘kay?” “Okay.”

“Edgy me! Lazy me! Other me!” Sans called from the dining room table. “Dinner is ready!”

“We’re coming!” Blue called out, turning around. He could hear the two familiar sounds of teleporting from behind him and rolled his eyes, walking towards the table. He smiled and thanked Sans when he pulled out a chair for Blue to sit in.

“Now that everyone’s here-” Sans smiled. “Let’s eat! Oh!” He snapped his fingers. “And you  _ must _ try the tacos! Blue helped me make them!”

As everyone started to dig in, Blue couldn’t help but look around and think that this… was going to be a long night.


End file.
